Dubai will probably help Nakheel with $3.52b bond repayment

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Dubai's government will probably help property developer Nakheel PJSC repay a $3.52 billion (Dh12.9 billion) Islamic bond due this year as it qualifies for assistance under a $10 billion support programme.

"There is a criterion that has to be met, and if that happens we will support any government-related entity," Nasser Bin Hassan Al Shaikh, director general of Dubai's Department of Finance, said in an interview at the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea, Jordan, late on Saturday. Nakheel meets the criterion, he said.

Dubai sold $10 billion of five-year bonds in February to the United Arab Emirates central bank, part of a $20 billion medium-term note programme, to assist state-owned companies struggling to raise cash during the credit crunch. That money will be used to meet payment shortfalls or repay loans, the government said.